Nice, the critics seemed to see the same show I did... I went in not really familiar with the hype or history of Karimloo, and left wondering how his name had eluded me for so long. His "Bring Him Home" brought the house to a hush the other night, and no one wanted to miss a single breath or syllable. Exquisite. And this isn't even one of my favorite shows...
I did like Mientus, and thought his voice was pleasant and used much more broadly than we ever got to see in Smash, although that role always seems out of place to me, all his friends are dying in the street, and he needs to get a note to a girl, etc. Sort of like how Tom Cruise starts courting a girl as the aliens are attacking...
And, from the annals of another show I didn't think I'd care for going in, and left a fan, it was so nice seeing Keala Settle (from Hands on a Hardbody) chew up every inch of the scenes in which she appeared.
I do question the NY Times saying this staging is meant to capitalize on the movie version. Are people really sitting around thinking "You know that movie version with celebrities that we can buy on Blu-Ray for $15 and all watch at home? How would you like to spend $135 each and see people you don't know sing it on Broadway!"? I don't see it.
There's such a built-in audience for this production, all of whom are in for a treat, so you can probably attach any theory to why the audience is showing up and claim you were right, I suppose...
Now t/d/b/a haterobics on here.
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